An amusing study conducted by a highly-regarded public university has determined that the U.S. Border Patrol is committing “emotional violence” against illegal immigrants.

The research project at the University of Arizona focuses on drugs and violence at the U.S.-Mexico border. After interviewing hundreds of captured illegal immigrants, researchers found that there is an increase in “physical and emotional violence” perpetuated by the federal agents charged with protecting the U.S. border.

Preliminary results of the ongoing study were recently revealed by a Tucson news station that interviewed the lead researcher, university geographer Jeremy Slack. He compares Border Patrol agents to Mexican smugglers and bandits who abuse vulnerable immigrants trying to make their way north. Neither treats illegal aliens with respect, he says.

Mexicans trying to cross into the U.S. illegally are regularly victims of racial name-calling and cursing, the academic researcher claims. About 30% of them are also victims of physical abuse from federal agents, Slack and his staff have found. All of this constitutes a new category seldom reported by the media; “emotional violence.”

So far, researchers have excluded relevant information detailing how Border Patrol agents are increasingly attacked by heavily armed Mexican drug cartels and human smugglers. Some stretches of the border are so dangerous that agents are ordered to avoid them because patrolling them could result in an “international incident” or cross border shooting.

In some areas the violence has spilled into U.S. communities, forcing local law enforcement agencies along the southern border to create special units dedicated to combating criminal activity related to illegal immigration and Mexican drug cartels. Additionally, many national parks have posted signs warning visitors of the imminent danger created by Mexican drug and immigrant smugglers.

It’s certainly feasible that this could create a sort of “emotional violence” for the Americans that live in those areas, though the possibility isn’t mentioned in the Arizona study. Of interesting note is that the Department of Homeland Security regularly hires the University of Arizona to conduct research on border issues. Most recently the agency gave the university’s NationalCenter for Border Security and Immigration half a million dollars to study the effectiveness of Border Patrol checkpoints and their impact on nearby communities.